- Lately I've been using InstaPlace ($1.99) more than any other camera app. It adds a themed overlay known as a "skin" to photos, and includes 40 professionally designed skins. The skins include info such as current location, date and time. Most are elegant with simple graphics, and include phrases such as, "Greetings from Toyota Center in Houston, TX," "I was here (location name) on September 3, 2013." You can add your own text before saving or sharing. It's my favorite app for shooting an event and sharing memorable shots.

- Fast Camera ($1.99) is a one-trick camera app that can shoot up to 800 pictures per minute at resolutions up to 8 megapixels. Options include continuous or burst (1, 5, 10 or 25 shots) modes, an adjustable delay between shots, and optional manual control over focus and exposure. It also has a great preview mode for reviewing all of your shots. A recent update introduced the excellent Stealth Mode, so you can turn off the entire screen while shooting. If you take a lot of action shots, Fast Camera makes sure you won't miss that once-in-a-lifetime photo op.

- TiltShift Video ($4.99) is my favorite app for adding a cool depth- of-field effect to photos and videos. It also includes saturation, contrast, brightness and vignette controls, and can speed up or slow down any video. Its controls are logical and easy to use.

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- Cartoonatic (free) offers a set of cartoon, pencil sketch, and art filters to apply to photos or videos. The effects instantly transform photos and videos into pseudo-art by applying brush or pencil strokes, colorization, and/or overlays. It's simple to use.

- If you like the High Dynamic Range mode built into your iPhone (or iPad/iPod touch) camera, try True HDR ($1.99) instead. Its fully automatic mode lets you take great such shots effortlessly, or you can tinker with the manual controls and fine- tune your shots even further.

- Comic Life ($4.99) includes everything needed to turn photos into comic strips, including speech balloons, comic book fonts, shapes, shadows, banners, filters and effects. If you ever dreamed of making comic books, this app makes it easier than ever.